There Be Monsters
by A Voice in the Desert
Summary: Rick Riordan left us at a cliffhanger at the end of MoA, but what if he'd written one more chapter, or given us a sneak peak at the preface to The House of Hades? Takes place just after Annabeth and Percy land in Tartarus and explores their monsters - and the ones that dwell in the abyss! One-shot. Percabeth.


**There Be Monsters**

_By: A Voice in the Desert_

"I'm not leaving you Annabeth."

Those were the first words out of his mouth after impact.

Aching ribs, sore knees, and a splitting headache were not nearly enough to sway that conviction.

Percy reached over, and ran a hand gently through his girlfriend's hair as she gingerly sat up. A tired groan parted her lips as she carefully reached out and prodded her swollen ankle delicately with her fingertips. If the resulting grimace and hiss of pain were any indication, Percy guessed that the fall had only made it worse. They'd be lucky if she could stand on it at all.

They had landed at the bottom of what could only be described as the underworld's longest mineshaft. The trickle of light that Percy knew was at the top was invisible at this depth and yet the abyss was still bathed in an eerie haze. The sickly sweet, cloying smell of the rotten depths stung his throat, and his eyes searched for an exit. The heavy mist made it almost impossible to see, but there was one escape route – a narrow, rocky path carved into the crag's face.

"We need to get moving."

It wasn't unkind or demanding, merely conversational, but with all their ambrosia on the _Argo II_, it was unlikely they were going to find any help down in the abyss. They were on their own.

Unsteadily he stood, slowly stretching his legs and trying to ignore the sudden flare of pain in his knees. After a moment, he extended a hand to Annabeth and shakily helped her upright. Gingerly, he placed one arm around her waist and draped her arm across his shoulders. He had one hand free for Riptide. It would have to be enough.

"P-Percy?" Annabeth's voice came in short, worried spurts. "We're in Tartarus."

Percy just held her close and gently kissed her temple. "We are," he said simply. What other answer could he give when they'd just fallen into hell? "And we've got to close the Doors of Death. We'll manage. Together."

Like a drum echoing in the deep, a hissing cackle seemed to emanate from the surrounding rocks, mocking his assertion – a cascading echo, crescendoing into a cacophony of different voices. A mocking, derisive promise of a painful death. A death unlike any found in the mortal world.

"Let's go," he murmured, wondering why he even bothered whispering. Arachne's death had surely stirred Gaea's monsters, and it was doubtful that their passage would go unnoticed. But they had to try. Together they hobbled, one leaning against the other, into the post-apocalyptic gloom.

Tartarus wasn't pitch black, but Percy thought he probably would have preferred it that way. The faint light cast a reddish orange glow over the rocks, and motes of dust floated serenely in the air – each of their footfalls disturbing the perfectly smooth ground. It was as if they trod not on holy ground, but on the ground bones and ashes of monsters and civilizations long since extinct, damned to nothingness in a grave so deep that they had been expunged from the annals of existence.

Only now, Percy wasn't so sure. Ancient monsters were stirring. The Doors of Death needed to be locked, and Thanatos' full power restored. The monsters that had resigned themselves to eternal damnation were awakening once again – a hope of restoration born anew by Gaea's clever plan. Some of them were never meant to be disturbed.

The gods were divided, the demigods split, and the world resting once again, on their shoulders. And this time, there would be no Atlas to take it back. This time, Percy might truly have to surrender to Thanatos' tug.

But before that, before he had to make that decision, he needed to see Annabeth through. His monsters were secondary.

"C'mon sweetheart," he gently prodded her forward, "we can rest in a bit, but we need to keep moving."

"I'm fine Seaweed Brain," she rolled her eyes, drawing on Percy's strength but bristling at the implication, "stop worrying."

It was the first time Percy had cracked a smile since they'd fallen.

"So your ankle will just magically heal itself, I assume?" He teased, glad for the momentary reprieve from his inner dialogue.

"It'll last."

_It'll last._ Those words sent shivers down Percy's spine. Annabeth, ever the realist, had come to the same conclusion his mind had reached only moments before: they probably weren't climbing from this abyss.

They both lapsed into an introspective silence, before Percy's mouth quirked into another slight smile.

"C'mon Wise Girl, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

She glared up at him. "You mean worse than this?"

"Yeah, you know…you already defeated your greatest fear, followed the Mark of Athena, and restored the Athena Parthenos. Not too bad for a day's work if you ask me."

She snorted. "And yet I still managed to get both of us thrown into Tartarus."

"Annabeth," Percy said, stopping their slow slog for a moment, "you didn't do this. The gods didn't do this. For once, even _I _didn't do this. Gaea did this. You and I both knew the risks of coming to Rome in the first place. You knew the risks of searching for the Mark of Athena. And I knew the risk of coming after you."

"And now we're going to die."

Percy's mood sobered. "Perhaps. But at least we'll be together."

Finally, Annabeth quirked a smile too, and Percy lightly brushed away some of the dust that speckled her blond hair. "Together," she said.

They started walking into the haze again, picking their way carefully through the maze of rocks until they rounded a blind corner and suddenly came to a halt.

In front of them stood an array of monsters, some they could name, some that they could not. How they had managed to sneak up on them, Percy would never know, but there was a certain unearthly quality to them. They drew their strength from the darkness, their eyes shining in stark contrast to the murky haze – like lanterns in a misty swamp. Wordlessly, and with one hand still draped around his girlfriend's waist, Percy drew Riptide and Annabeth, her dagger.

And waited for the monsters to come.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and don't claim to. Anything you recognize belongs to RR.**

**Just a little something to hold me over until The House of Hades comes out. Please review and let me know what you think!**


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